May 29, 2008 9:36 AM
Air Force Base Dedicates Fitness Center to WWII Hero
U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Noah R. Johnson.
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, AZ -- Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona recently held a dedication ceremony to name its fitness center after Tech. Sgt. Arthur J. Benko, a World War II veteran. Airmen and members of the Desert Lightning team attended the ceremony to show support and to pay respects to Benko, who was a turret gunner aboard a B-24 bomber aircraft during World War II.
In addition to a four-man A-10 flyover by the 358th Fighter Squadron, the event featured an HH-60 flyover with a landing at the base track by Tech. Sgt. David Rogers, aerial gunner from the 55th Electronic Group, who impersonated Benko by wearing a 1950s-style Air Force military uniform.
During a World War II mission in 1943, Benko’s aircraft had severe engine trouble, and he had to parachute out of the plane. Benko was lost near Hong Kong, never to be heard from again, according to the Air Force.
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